Morocco

Morocco is somewhere we have travelled fairly extensively with children, so we can highly recommend it as an unusual and highly rewarding destination. If you want to introduce kids to a new and entirely different culture, as well as a healthy dose of wilderness, there’s nowhere closer or more ideal. The Moroccans love children, and it’s not uncommon when walking in remote Berber villages to find women stopping to spontaneously kiss passing children or chuck them under the chin. Once they’ve overcome the deep embarrassment this causes them, your children will return feeling very cherished!

The short flight to Marrakech from London — 3 hours, 35 minutes — also means that Morocco is ideal for a short half term break. With small children, a few nights in Marrakech followed by two or three nights in the High Atlas is the perfect introduction to the country, with opportunities to try a little bit of trekking, perhaps aided by mules. 

For longer holidays, a family trek in the deep south is something we have done to great effect with children. Despite the long distances, the desert holds a powerful appeal to children – no doubt something to do with the large amounts of sand there is to play in. The coastal town of Essaouira is another treasure trove for children, with endless small shops selling enticing goodies. The weather during the Easter and Autumn half terms makes them the ideal time to visit, as small children would probably find the fierce summer heat too much to contend with.

In terms of making the most of Morocco’s picturesque landscapes, the High Atlas mountains, and the deserts in the South offer some of the most sensational and untouched wilderness in all of Africa. Leave the capital Marrakech and head south, winding your way through valleys and mountain switchbacks, and you enter a world of dramatic landscapes, small villages and medieval kasbahs.

Originally a small medieval trading post, Ouarzazate is now the centre of Morocco’s thriving film business, where you will find yourself on the edge of a vast expanse of wild territory that stretches uninterrupted for many hundreds of miles. Leave the main roads and the scale and extent of the landscape is awe-inspiring.  At night in particular, when light pollution is totally absent, the thing that strikes one most, under the panoply of impossibly bright stars, is the minimal impact that man has made on much of this landscape to now. Long may that last. 

The Draa Valley, Dades and Todra Gorges are dramatic destinations in themselves while close to the Algerian border to the south and south-west, you’ll find sensationally wild and unspoilt areas of real desert. The Erg Chebbi and Erg Chiggaga are the two principal places to see dunes as high as 150 metres tall, with the sand rolling as far as the eye can see. These areas can be explored on foot, supported by camels over a period of days.

In other areas you’ll find rocky deserts that look like the surface of Mars, red in hue and strewn with strangely eroded black rocks. Craggy ridge lines catch the desert sand, creating massive red dunes scaling up to almost 200 metres in height.  This is a country best seen from a private 4×4 on a guided tour, based from a tented camp to let you explore the rocky expanses, rolling dunes and ragged mountain ranges. Unlike Namibia — another country with sensational deserts, but beset by many thousands of miles of fences — the Moroccan desert is accessible by tracks and trails, many of which have been established camel routes for centuries. Wherever you choose to go, booking a Moroccan adventure holiday with Natural High guarantees a private trek, so can be tailored to all levels of fitness.

The length of your trip to Morocco will ultimately depend on what you hope to see and do during your visit. Desert treks are worth spending several days on, complete with a camel for transport and luxury tents for accommodation. However, while this could easily be the focal part of your trip, it can easily be coupled with other equally essential sights, from the sprawling city of Fes to the breathtaking expanse of the Sahara. Get in touch to discuss exactly what you want to see, and we’ll help you plan the perfect Moroccan adventure holiday that you’ll treasure for a lifetime.

Morocco was described in Michael Palin’s Sahara as “a cold country with a hot sun” – a good generalisation for much of the year, we recommend that when trekking in Morocco you pack light and take lots of layers with you.

For more information please visit:https://alicemorrison.co.uk/what-to-wear-for-hiking-in-morocco/

Morocco was described in Michael Palin’s Sahara as “a cold country with a hot sun” — a good generalisation for much of the year. In general, the peak season is perceived as being from March to late June when the risk of rain has largely gone and before the full force of the summer heat arrives.